A news crew asked him to re-enact his lottery win. He accidentally won $250,000 on camera.

Hollywood couldn't script a story this perfect.

The saga of Bill Morgan remains one of the most famous viral moments in television history. It is the story of a man who went from the very brink of death to becoming arguably the luckiest person on the planet in the span of a few weeks.

The Tragedy Before the Triumph Morgan’s journey began in darkness. While working as a truck driver in Australia, he was crushed in an accident that triggered a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital, where he suffered a severe allergic reaction to medication, causing his heart to stop for 14 minutes.

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Morgan was clinically dead. Although doctors managed to revive him, he slipped into a deep coma. He remained in a vegetative state for 12 days, with doctors advising his family to turn off life support. Miraculously, he woke up, making a full recovery without any brain damage.

The First Win Grateful to be alive, Morgan decided to change his life. He got engaged to his girlfriend and, feeling lucky, bought a scratch-off lottery ticket. He scratched it to find he had won a Toyota Corolla worth about $17,000 (approx. $30,000 AUD).

Woman celebrating with hashtag #winning via Giphy

Winning a car is a great story, especially for a man who had just cheated death. Local media outlets in Melbourne loved the angle and sent a news crew to interview him.

The Re-enactment The TV crew wanted B-roll footage to help tell the story. They asked Morgan to walk into the shop, buy a ticket, and pretend to scratch it, just to show the viewers how it happened.

Morgan obliged. He bought a ticket with his own money and started scratching it while the camera rolled.

As the latex peeled away, Morgan's face changed. He stopped smiling. He looked at the ticket, then at the camera, then back at the ticket.

"I just won $250,000. I’m not joking," he mumbled, his hands beginning to shake.

The cameraman and reporter thought he was acting. But he wasn't.

"I think I’ll have another heart attack," Morgan exclaimed, holding his chest.

The Aftermath He had just won the jackpot—worth nearly $250,000 AUD at the time—on a ticket he only bought as a prop.

"I’m not joking," he repeated, before turning away to compose himself. "Please, please do not film me."

The footage shows him pulling out his brick-sized cell phone to call his fiancée, telling her the unbelievable news. The couple eventually used the money to buy a house and secure their future.

Decades later, due to arthritis and heart issues, Morgan couldn't work, but he maintained his perspective.

“Every day I get up and put on my shoes, and even if I’m not real well I have a shuffle down the road and smell the roses, look at the sun and think about how lucky I am,” he told the Daily Mail.

For Bill Morgan, the money was nice—but the second chance at life was the real jackpot.

This article originally appeared earlier this year.